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Digital storytelling allows people to share aspects of their life story through a short film. Digital storytelling are on average eight minutes and are often presented in a compelling and emotionally engaging format.

My high school psychology teacher created a film to promote mothers against drunk driving (MADD). She interviewed mothers that have been affected by a drunk driving accident, used hypertexts and computer narrative games to get the message across.

Interviewing mothers was the most effective (in my opinion). Some mothers cried while speaking. Most told their stories about what had happened to their loved one. They all basically had the same kind of story. Their son or daughter died in a drunk driving car accident. Some of them were the drivers, others were the passengers. A lot of the children were 16. It seemed to happen to the new drivers the most. They are new and haven’t had practice driving yet. The most common ages were 16 and 17. This is when teens get into drinking first. They can’t handle their liquor and they are not smart enough to think about the effects that it could have on their lives before getting into the car.

She showed images of children with blood poring out of their heads and the totaled cars. The music in the background was Coldplay and other sad songs to give the montage the right ambiance.

Watching it really made me not want to ever drink and drive, let alone drink in general. I helped promote sober driving in high school. I was in an organization called S.H.O.C.K (Students Helping Others Choose Knowledgeably). We would go talk to groups of teens, put up banners around our high school and town, and would speak on our radio program. When students saw our involvement, they realized how big of an effect drunk driving could have on their lives. After this, students kept coming up to me saying how I changed their minds and they will never drink and drive again.

Digital storytelling is a very effective way to get the point across. After watching the short film, students made smarter decisions. My teacher had hoped that this digital story would have this impact on the community. If ever the opportunity were to arise, I would tell a story through digital storytelling.